A/N: Hello everyone! I really don't think a lot of people would read this story because of the obvious reason that this isn't an OQ biological child story but Peanut's, which is fine, everyone has their own opinion so if you dislike the fact that I'm writing a series of one-shots about her then it's fine but there wont be any need for you to be rude :) Anyways, Roses, here's the first chapter, I hope you enjoy it.
Rating T For language (just one word!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time nor its characters, however I do own Aileen (in a way) and my crazy ideas (my mistakes too!)
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First Birthday Bash
It's been a year since Zelena had given birth to his daughter, a year since she was banished back to Oz by her own sister, a year since his baby girl had him wrapped around her little finger.
It wasn't any easy year, not at all. It was hard and especially on Regina knowing she had to be the one helping him raise his daughter who also happened to be her niece. This family simply continued to grow more and more complicated each year. He saw the hurt in her eyes whenever she watched him with the baby, he knew exactly what went through that beautiful mind of hers, he wished the same wishes as she did. He wished Aileen was theirs, he wished they could have their own baby but just because she couldn't grant him that, it didn't mean he loved her any less.
The first month wasn't as hard as he expected it to be, only because they spent most of it in the Underworld trying to bring back their friend and Belle had to watch over her and Roland.
The second and third months were tiring, Aileen's sleep pattern was all over the place, sometimes she would sleep away the day and wake them up at night to play and sometimes it was the other way around, and it was hard for Robin to drag himself out of bed at 2AM to warm her a bottle and then again two hours afterwards, and again another two hours later. Regina offered to help but he politely declined, not because he didn't want to include her in the baby's life nor did he not trust her around his daughter, it was only because he knew how uncomfortable Regina still was around her; he didn't want to make anything worse.
But the fourth month came along and he was surprised when he found Regina in the nursery one night, rocking back and forth in the vintage white rocking chair, humming a beautiful melody to the infant curled up into her. It was a sight that was carved in both his mind and heart, it was too beautiful of a sight to be true.
The fifth and sixth months dragged by and Regina grew closer to the baby girl. She would jump out of bed at the slightest cries and hurry to soothe Aileen, she would take her with her to work and wherever she needed to be even if Robin wasn't busy with Roland, Henry and his Merry Men. The two were inseparable.
The rest of the months went by in a blink of an eye, almost too fast for Regina's liking. He caught her sobbing in Aileen's nursery a couple of weeks ago, she was standing by her crib and holding onto the little girl's favorite stuffed toy; her bunny rabbit. He wrapped his arms around her and asked about what bothered her, "I just can't believe she's going to be one in two weeks!" she sobbed and it made him chuckle, it wasn't the best thing to do in that situation, it earned him a smack over the chest but he soothed her anyways and gathered her in his arms as they both looked down at their princess fast asleep, tucked securely underneath her blanket with her thumb in-between her rosy lips.
The Mayor's mansion was beautifully decorated in a Rainbows theme. It took the couple exactly two months to finally settle on an idea, not because there were too many to choose from but because Regina insisted on something pastel and sparkly, something fit for a princess but Robin on the other hand wanted to go with his theme; forest, of course. He wanted green, arrows, animals and nature but Regina rolled her eyes and gave him the expression of disgust. Told him that Aileen was a girl, a princess nonetheless and she deserved more than a forest themed party as her first, that was when Roland and Henry came up with the idea of a forest princess but the couple turned that down as fast as a human being can blink.
Although they knew the child was too young to understand, they laid different prints of themes infront of her and allowed her to choose, and of course, as any child would, Aileen went for the one with the brightest of colors. The rainbows.
That was how she ended up waddling around the house, squealing in her colorful tutu skirt and white t-shirt with the number 1 printed on it. Her short, sandy blonde, curly hair left untouched after the many struggles and failed attempts to pull it up into a tiny pigtail by both Regina and Robin.
"Lenni!" Roland called out after her when she somehow — again — managed to snatch one of the treats on the candy bar, they would've let it go if it was something wrapped or something that wont create a big mess. But she was waddling on her tiny, chubby legs as fast as she could with a cupcake, a colorful, rainbow swirl cupcake, "Mom, Lenni stole a cupcake!"
Regina's whiskey eyes grew wide in horror, she shoved the tray of snacks into Emma's hands and ran out of the kitchen, watching a gleeful 1 year old run right infront of her and an army of men trying to catch her. How could a 1 year old manage to get a way from a 6 year old, a 13 year old and three grownup men! "Robin!"
"I'll get her," he assured right before he stumbled over Rabbit, falling face first on the floor, Killian busted out in laughter, but karma's a bitch and he should've known that before slamming right into the wall.
"I'm gonna get her," David chuckled, he bent and scooped up the little girl in his arms, "Gotcha!" Aileen squealed in delight, believing that all of this was some sort of a game and when the Prince turned her around to face him, she gave him the same, evil smile Regina would give everyone before pressing the cupcake all over his face.
"Oh thank go—" Regina's sentence died midway, replaced by a loud laugh at the scene before her and the mess this innocent 1 year old managed to cause, "Oh, what have you done, Lenni?" she cooed, taking the giggling toddler from David's arms, "You drove them all crazy, didn't you?"
"Good frosting by the way," David commented, licking a bit out of the corner of his mouth the tip of his tongue, making it harder for the brunette to contain her laughter.
"Wash up," she shoved him toward the guest's bathroom located downstairs, "We're cutting up the cake in a few minutes, grab the rest of your three musketeers pack."
"Yes, your Majesty," he teased.
The whole big and complicated family gathered around the table where Aileen stood between her parents, Regina on one side with Roland standing beside her and Robin on the other with Henry standing beside him, taking pictures of his baby sister and everyone else, snapping memories for them to cherish and remember in the future.
The traditional Happy Birthday song was sung by everyone of all ages, making them sound incredibly out of tune and the words sounding almost in a foreign language rather than English. When the time to blow her candle came, Lenni struggled and to avoid having spit all over the two-tiered rainbow cake, Regina helped her. Everyone clapped and cheered, the little girl included, quite proud of her accomplishment of blowing out the candle.
Robin cut a small piece out of the cake and fed the birthday girl first before turning his attention to Regina, it took everything in him not to smash and smear the cake all over her face, he knew if he wanted to keep his life, he wouldn't do it, she already warned him about it. The outlaw cut another bite sized portion and shared it with the boys, and although Henry refused at first, he didn't stand a chance against the stubbornness of Robin; he was as bad as his mother.
"Guys," Mary Margaret said, a huge smile curled over her lips as she held the camera up, "squeeze in together for a family picture."
"Come on, love," Robin grinned, he pressed a kiss to his fiancée's cheek and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. The family of 5 stood together and gave the camera a big smile as Mary Margaret counted.
"1…2…3…"
The camera clicked just in time to capture the perfect moment of Regina Mills being slammed in the face with a handful of frosting by none other than the troublemaker herself, Lenni, making everyone in the room laugh, herself included.
Because, let's face it, nothing's funnier than an angry mayor with yellow and orange frosting taking up half of her face.
"Lenni!"
Oh Lenni.
Her presence chased away the darkness, it brought laughter into the house, it gave Regina a happy ending.
She was the light of her mommy's life, exactly what her name meant. Aileen.
A/N: Whoever read this, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it, I'd love to hear your thoughts about this so please review and thank you :)
